Where I talk about the things I'm constantly thinking about: Food, interior design, craftyness, Boy, and my dog. Because what else is there?

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Needles, not a hook

When it comes to working with skeins and hanks, I am a knitting- only kind of yarn person. I don't crochet. I find the process tedious, which I realize is a little strange since I would never say that about the act of knitting. I saw a really cute crochet scarf once that I went as far as to buy all the yarn for and actually start, but I only managed to get about a tenth of it completed before I discovered (again) that crocheting, for me, just doesn't provide the kind of satisfaction that knitting does. I'm sure I'll offend a few crochet fans here, but I also find the finished products are just not as nice and the possibilities not as diverse as with knitting. That was until I saw a neato, crocheted bracelet on the cover of one of the many beading mazines out there. I just HAD to make one, as it seemed even from the photographs that the FO would be worth the tedium of it's creation.Here's one of my completed crocheted bracelets. It's made using upholstery thread, a bunch of size 6 beads, and a lot of danglies. You actually have to make all the baubles ahead of time, and string them and the beads onto the spool of thread before you start crocheting. From there it's a matter of picking up one bead with every crocheted stitch, and the end result is similar to tubular peyote stitch. Labor intesive, yes, but the acutal crochet process is less time consuming than making all the baubles and stringing everything (which is definitely tedious!). The end result is a fun, chunky piece of jewelry.Here's a sparkly one in pink, using Swarvoski crystals, sterling Bali beads, Miracle beads and a nice Amethyst tipped toggle clasp:I wish I could love crochet, I really do. My family are crocheters, and it did vaguely interest me as a kid but what I really wanted was to learn to knit and I always found it dissapointing that there wasn't anyone to teach me. And I think I always held a little bit of a grudge against crochet because it mademe feel unworthy. My mother was constantly doing it yet never had the patience to teach me because I'm a lefty and she's a righty....or at least that's the excuse she used. These days, there are a couple of crochet hooks in my knitting bag but only to use for picking up dropped stitches or fixing mistakes. So for me, needles please, no hook.

P.S. sorry the photos are not so good. must. get. new. camera. Also, my apologies for not paying proper credit to the magazine and designer responsible for this pattern...I can't seem to track it down right now.